U.S. patent number 8,544,541 [Application Number 13/110,722] was granted by the patent office on 2013-10-01 for packer supported on bonded connection to a surrounding tubular.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Baker Hughes Incorporated. The grantee listed for this patent is David S. Bishop. Invention is credited to David S. Bishop.
United States Patent |
8,544,541 |
Bishop |
October 1, 2013 |
Packer supported on bonded connection to a surrounding tubular
Abstract
A packer or bridge plug has slips that bind to the surrounding
tubular with an adhesive bond. The tubular wall is not penetrated
but a roughening of the target location in the tubular can help the
bond material to adhere to support the packer or bridge plug. A
removable cover can overlay the surface to be bonded to the tubular
and the cover can come off in a variety of techniques before the
members to be bonded are radially extended. An acrylic adhesive can
be the bonding agent. The packer or bridge plug can be made of
mostly or entirely non-metallic materials to facilitate mill
out.
Inventors: |
Bishop; David S. (Houston,
TX) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Bishop; David S. |
Houston |
TX |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Baker Hughes Incorporated
(Houston, TX)
|
Family
ID: |
47174070 |
Appl.
No.: |
13/110,722 |
Filed: |
May 18, 2011 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20120292014 A1 |
Nov 22, 2012 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
166/120;
166/134 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E21B
33/129 (20130101); E21B 33/1204 (20130101); E21B
33/134 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
E21B
33/13 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;166/118,120,134 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Neuder; William P
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Rosenblatt; Steve
Claims
I claim:
1. A packer or bridge plug assembly for subterranean use,
comprising: a mandrel supporting a sealing element, at least one
slip and a setting assembly to selectively extend said at least one
slip and sealing element to a surrounding tubular; said at least
one slip supporting said mandrel by a bonded contact to the
surrounding tubular; said at least one slip further comprises an
adhesive forming an outwardly facing contact surface for adhering
to the surrounding tubular.
2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein: said outwardly facing contact
surface of said slip does not penetrate into the surrounding
tubular.
3. The assembly of claim 1, wherein: said outwardly facing contact
surface to which said adhesive is applied is roughened.
4. The assembly of claim 1, wherein: said slip is made of a
non-metallic material.
5. The assembly of claim 1, wherein: said at least one slip
comprises spaced slips that straddle said sealing element.
6. The assembly of claim 5, wherein: said mandrel comprises opposed
cones that guide the movement of said slips into a bonded relation
with the surrounding tubular.
7. A packer or bridge plug assembly for subterranean use,
comprising: a mandrel supporting a sealing element, at least one
slip and a setting assembly to selectively extend said slips and
sealing element to a surrounding tubular; said at least one slip
supporting said mandrel by a bonded contact to the surrounding
tubular; said at least one slip further comprise an adhesive on an
outwardly facing contact surface for the surrounding tubular; said
adhesive comprises an acrylic adhesive.
8. A packer or bridge plug assembly for subterranean use,
comprising: a mandrel supporting a sealing element, at least one
slip and a setting assembly to selectively extend said slips and
sealing element to a surrounding tubular; said at least one slip
supporting said mandrel by a bonded contact to the surrounding
tubular; said at least one slip further comprise an adhesive on an
outwardly facing contact surface for the surrounding tubular; said
adhesive is initially covered for run in with a removable cover on
said slip.
9. The assembly of claim 8, wherein: said cover is removed
reactively, thermally or by dissolving.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The field of the invention is packers or bridge plugs used in
subterranean locations and more particularly where the set support
to the surrounding tubular is made with an extending anchoring
member that bonds to the surrounding tubular.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Packers and bridge plugs typically have one or more seal rings that
are flanked by slips. Slips are tapered elements that ride up cones
that are brought closer together in opposite directions toward the
sealing element. As a result the sealing element is compressed and
the slips are forced out radially as well to get a penetrating bite
into the surrounding tubular. This penetration is accomplished with
serrations or wickers on the face of the slips that contacts the
tubular. In some applications hardened carbide inserts are teamed
up with wickers to enhance the grip of the packer or the bridge
plug.
While the wickers and inserts increase the support for the packer
or the bridge plug against differential pressures, they also can
cause localized stresses in the surrounding tubular that over time
can cause cracks and even leakage. Any such occurrence would then
require a production outage and a very expensive workover to patch
the casing, for example. If for any reason the packer or bridge
plug has to be drilled out, the penetrating wickers make the
milling more difficult not only from the perspective that they are
penetrating the casing wall but also from the perspective that they
made be fabricated or cast from materials that increase the milling
time to get the packer or the bridge plug to release.
The trend has been to make slips bite the casing and in some
instances to produce the slip from a cast material that is fairly
brittle as an aid in breaking up the slips to get the packer or
bridge plug to release when milling. The present invention seeks to
go in a new direction by using a bonded connection of the slip to
the surrounding tubular. In the preferred embodiment the slip
preferably has an acrylic adhesive applied to the contact face with
the tubular. A removable cover that comes off at the desired depth
in a variety of ways can be incorporated to protect the bonded face
before application against the surrounding tubular. Surface
roughening of the bonded slip face and of the surrounding tubular
can also increase the strength of the bonded grip. The slip
materials and for that matter the components of the packer or
bridge plug can be non-metallic or composite materials, for example
that will also shorten the milling out time. Conventional setting
mechanisms can be deployed to extend the slips and trigger the bond
that are for example accomplished with string manipulation,
wellbore hydrostatic or with pressure in the tubing applied from
the surface. Those skilled in the art will more readily appreciate
various aspects of the invention from a review of the description
of the preferred embodiment and the associated drawings while
keeping in mind that the full scope of the invention is to be
determined by the appended claims.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A packer or bridge plug has slips that bind to the surrounding
tubular with an adhesive bond. The tubular wall is not penetrated
but a roughening of the target location in the tubular can help the
bond material to adhere to support the packer or bridge plug. A
removable cover can overlay the surface to be bonded to the tubular
and the cover can come off in a variety of techniques before the
members to be bonded are radially extended. An acrylic adhesive can
be the bonding agent. The packer or bridge plug can be made of
mostly or entirely non-metallic materials to facilitate mill
out.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows the run in position of the packer or bridge plug;
and
FIG. 2 is the view of FIG. 1 in the set position against a
surrounding tubular.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 illustrates a tubular string 10 that supports a packer
mandrel 12. On the mandrel 12 are a sealing element 14 with cones
16 and 18 on opposed sides of the element 14. Slips 20 and 22 are
located to the outside of the cones 16 and 18. Slips 20 and 22
respectively ride up ramps 24 and 26. The mechanism to move the
assembly from the FIG. 1 run in position to the FIG. 2 set position
is illustrated schematically with arrows 30 and 32 showing opposed
forces that compress the seal 14 and cause the slips 20 and 22 to
ride up ramps 24 and 26 for radial extension to the surrounding
tubular 34. The slips 20 and 22 feature preferably an acrylic
adhesive 36 on the outermost surface that is designed to contact
the surrounding tubular 34 on radial extension in the FIG. 2
position. Also schematically illustrated in FIG. 1 is a temporary
cover 38. This cover can keep well fluids off the adhesive until
the desired set location is reached. Removal of the cover can occur
with the addition of a fluid to the wellbore or reactive or thermal
effects from expected well fluids that will weaken and rapidly
disintegrate the cover 38 before the slips 20 and 22 are radially
extended. For example the presence of water or hydrocarbons in the
wellbore can be the removal agent for the cover 38.
Several design options are contemplated. The adhesive 36 can be
applied to a roughened surface on the outer face of the slips 20 or
22. Instead of slips that straddle the seal 14 the slip pair can be
a single bidirectional slip that appears above or below the seal
14. If it is known ahead of time when the tubular 34 is run into a
wellbore where the packer or bridge plug is to be set, then the
interior surface of the tubular 34 can be roughened to enhance the
grip area and improve resistance to applied differential pressures.
The material for the slips 20 or 22 can be of a non-metallic or
composite material to facilitate milling out.
The use of a bonded relationship between the slips and the
surrounding tubular avoids penetration into the wall of the
surrounding tubular 34 that occurs with slips that have external
wickers and hardened inserts that are expressly designed to
penetrate the wall of the surrounding tubular. The objective with
slips 20 and 22 is to firmly grab by radial extension and adhere
with the adhesive to retain the packer or bridge plug in position
against differentials in either direction.
The setting mechanism can be mechanical through string manipulation
with drag blocks or tubing pressure or annulus hydrostatic pressure
or other known setting devices for packers and bridge plugs. In the
run in position, the slips are retracted radially further in toward
the mandrel 12 than the sealing element 14 or associated backup
rings that are not shown but well known in the art. The use of the
bonding relationship will facilitate milling out especially if the
components are non-metallic. The bond relationship will offer less
resistance to milling making the removal process faster. The
avoidance of wall penetration will create less wall stress in the
casing or tubing to which the slips are adhered so as to avoid risk
of cracks that would bring on the need for a costly workover.
The above description is illustrative of the preferred embodiment
and many modifications may be made by those skilled in the art
without departing from the invention whose scope is to be
determined from the literal and equivalent scope of the claims
below:
* * * * *